We both got a late start today because hubby had a coffee incident in the kitchen this morning (the pot developed a plug such that hot coffee and grounds overflowed volcano-style all over the counter, nearby stove, floor, wall and into the cat’s bowls before he noticed). So we had to work late tonight to make up for lost time. To compensate, I made both breakfast and lunch bentos so we didn’t starve.

Breakfast Bentos

Layer of vanilla Silk® brand yogurt under chopped nectarines, strawberries and oranges then topped with pecans and dried cranberries. Hubby likes his fruit with plenty of agave nectar to sweeten it but the nectarines are so perfect today that I’m testing to see if he notices the missing nectar. Even though agave nectar has about half the glycemic index of sugar or honey I’m still trying to watch how much sugar we consume.

My Lunch Bento

  • TastyBite® brand Punjab Eggplant over leftover white rice
  • Garnished with spring onion and tomato flower
  • Side salad with romaine, tomato, onion, goji berries and wasabi peas
  • Easy-Scale Sesame Dressing is something I mixed up quicky this morning (recipe here on my blog)
  • Dessert is kiwi and strawberries

Product Review of TastyBite® brand Punjab Eggplant

I hadn’t tried the TastyBite® product before and it was okay. Make sure you put some chapstick on before eating this as it will sting your lips. It’s fairly hot—as in spicy—but not a whole lot of other flavors. Didn’t taste the eggplant at all. This may be due to the processed nature of the food because I could SEE the eggplant, just didn’t taste it. These little packaged Indian foods are a good idea for bentos in that you can easily get several portions from one pouch and you don’t have to cook. The main thing that compelled me to purchase this particular one at Whole Foods was that the ingredients are NORMAL food items. Nothing I can’t pronounce and no scary chemicals. I might buy it on sale in the future and maybe add something savory to it to pump up the flavor. Hubby agrees, he preferred the Kitchens of India Chickpeas Curry we had last week.

Making the floral garnishes:

I found out while trying to make the tomato flowers that tomatoes are NOT the best item to use for attempting fancy shapes. Even though I tried using end slices (tomato heals) and patting them dry with paper towels, their edges are just too ragged. Would have looked better if I’d used a carrot or a yellow squash.

For the flower centers I used white slices from the spring onions tacked on with a dab of miso. The leaves are the green part of the spring onions cut on an extreme diagonal.

Hubby’s Lunch Bento

  • TastyBite® brand Punjab Eggplant over leftover white rice
  • Garnished with spring onion and tomato flower
  • Side salad with romaine, tomato, onion, goji berries and wasabi peas
  • Easy-Scale Sesame Dressing

Hubby’s Verdict

He loved the salad dressing. He thought it was the perfect amount of sesame oil and requested a I make a big jar to keep on hand at home.

(Side Note: Has anyone else noticed how much the price of sesame oil has gone up? I could have sworn it was 4 bucks at the regular grocery and now it’s 7. So, instead, I got a jumbo jug at our local Japanese supermart, Mitsuwa much more reasonably. I’m sure you can find it more cheaply if you try an ethnic grocer in your area.)

Regarding the TastyBite® brand Punjab Eggplant, he liked the Kitchens of India Chickpeas Curry from last week better.